I am always fascinated with people that, seemingly out of the blue, set out to fulfill personal life missions that benefit the community.
Paul Hosking is one of those people. While his full time profession is as a clinical pathologist specializing in blood transfusion medicine, he has come to the realization that he has more to offer his immediate community.
As a lower West Side resident, Hosking decided that he wanted to purchase some land in his neighborhood, where he could grow herb and vegetable-yielding plants that would provide people with healthier food options.
To that end, he purchased two parcels on Normal Avenue in 2019, and then another parcel on Plymouth Avenue more recently. The result is a sweeping piece of property that extends across an entire city block.
With the belief that “food is medicine,” Hosking has not only cultivated a series of gardens, he’s also built an impressive greenhouse on the property. And that’s not all. Next up, Paul is going to build a house, where he will one day live. And behind the greenhouse (on Plymouth), he plans on building another, as a potential Airbnb and guest house.
But first things first – in 2021 (his pilot year), Hosking planted thousands of seeds, as a trial and error of sorts, in preparation for opening what he is calling West Side Yard. While many of the seeds didn’t take because of of adverse growing conditions (at his house on Porter), Hosking says that it was a great period of discovery. Being a researcher, he understands the importance of real world applications, because there are so many variables when it comes to growing conditions. With the addition of the greenhouse however, the conditions are now ideal, which means that Hosking can now concentrate on the operational aspects of the plan, rather than whether the seeds will grow or not.
What makes Hosking’s nursery so different is not only his desire to nourish the community, it’s his fascination with the plants. For example, instead of growing a handful of different tomatoes, he’s growing 30 different varieties – many unusual, and some considered rare! That’s a researcher for you. Once he got is hands on the seed catalogs, he couldn’t say “no” to most of what he came across. Realizing that tomatoes were much more that simply tomatoes, Hoskings got to work. This discovery phase was very fruitful, as tomatoes such as big rainbow, Mr. Stripey, brandywine, tigerella, mortgage lifter, black krim, early girl, and better boy all appeared before his eyes. And that’s just one vegetable. He ended up ordering a “crazy number” of different eggplants, basils… the list goes on.
“Because I grow everything from seed, I’m very liberal with the variety of plants that I grow,” Hosking explains. “This would be too burdensome for most nurseries, as they all need to be transplanted into different containers as they grow. I’m not doing this to make money – I’m doing it because I am cultivating a sense of community. This will be a place where people can teach and learn. I’m growing things that would otherwise not be accessible to people. This is a nursery where you can watch the gardens grow, and learn about the different plant varieties. I was inspired by the experiences that people have on the Garden Walk. People share their gardens, and foster the growth of things that are beautiful. I want to share this with kindred people who are on similar journeys.
In order to get his project off the round, Hosking worked with the Small Business Development Center at Buffalo State. That gave him a good sounding board for his ideas. Ultimately, the decision was made that West Side Yard would be more of a lifestyle than a seasonal business. The plants will not be free, but they will be affordable. The goal would be for the garden center to be financially self-sustaining. It helps that the property is located directly next to West Side Tilth Farm. Hosking says that he will essentially mirror Tilth Farm’s operating days and hours on weekends.
“It’s an extension of the horticultural community,” says Hosking, who credits his desire to grow food, with a growth within himself that he calls an internal revolution. “Some might find all of this tedious. I find it meditative.”
West Side Yard opens for the first time this weekend. I highly suggest that you pay a visit to this awesome West Side amenity. And be sure to pop on over to Tilth Farm, right next door.
You can also find a bunch of the different types of plants at the new Stagecoach Market on Sunday (at Trattoria Aroma – 307 Bryant Street), from 9am to 1pm – see Instagram and Facebook – the plants will be $4 each (buy 5 and get one free).
